A few steps from heaven
by milky0candy
Summary: It caught her wrists, and she waited for the final blow. Yet, It did not kill her. EngineerxShaw
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer : **Everything belongs to Ridley Scott

Elizabeth's body slammed against the wall as the Engineer threw itself on her, feeling as if she was going to break into small pieces. She let out a howl of pain, her collarbone on the verge of shattering due to the sheer force of his palms. Her scream was met with an unearthly snarl and it tightened it's hold on her neck, forcing her to gasp for air.

She extended her arm with the intention of releasing her "child" onto this monster. Her fist was only several centimetres away from the control pannel when her movement was caught. The strong, hairless gigantic hand held her wrist, before pinning it above her head.

That's it, she thought. Everything is finally hitting an end ; all of her pains. The feeling of loss she had since Charlie's death; her utter loneliness since her father's death. Everything she gave up for did not matter anymore. Her struggles to keep her life together, trying to mend her relationship with Charlie were reduced to dust. Her sacrifices and efforts meant nothing ; There were no answers, and there will never be. She felt utterly abandonned ; not only by her own kind but also by the entity she putted her entire childlike faith on.

_God...why did you leave me?_

All the fight she previously had left her, her limbs growing limp. Resigned to accept her fate, she squeezed her eyes shut as hot tears trailed down her cheeks. She patiently preparedherself for the final blow, an odd sense of tranquility taking over her amid an ocean of terror and despair. She even allowed a small smile to play on her lips :

She was finally going to die.

And she waited.

Yet, after what seemed to be an eternity, that last blow never came. It loosened it's grip around her neck and she inhaled deeply. She could feel it's palm hovering above her face, and couldn't help but have a peak of morbid curiosity. What was it going to do to her?

It held her face and softly traced her lids with it's thumbs, with a surprising gentleness. She shot her eyes open, staring blankly at it's abyssmal black eyes. Even through her hazy pain she still found it's boundless pool of darkness most unnerving. It cocked it's head, the burn covering half of it's face glistening under the white artificial light. The Engineer emitted an almost palpable fascination as it observed her.

_Why isn't it killing me?_

How cruel destiny was. When she finally accepted her own death, it had to be taken away from her. Like everything else, she thought bitterly.

She tried to shift uneasily, but the weight of the creature held her down. A sharp throe shot through her lower abdomen and she stifled a groan. It must've realised this for it sat back a little, it's eyes trailing down as it assessed her wound. It used it's index to pick up some of the blood that trailed out, observing it.

What was so damn fascinating about her blood?

As if hearing her silent inquiry, it glanced back at her. And that was when it's facial burn slowly started to heal on it's own.

She couldn't hold anything back then. From the depth of her throat she screeched out her pain, revulsion, despair and hatred she felt directed at it. It was why everything was so wrong with her existance. It was responsible for all the sufferings she went through. It was the reason why the child she gave birth to was a gruesome, monstruous mockery of what she ever wanted.

And she knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 :**

When her eyes openned, she was met with darkness. Confusion rushed into her as she looked around, trying to discern her surroundings in vain. She had a hard time remembering what last happened, her mind feeling numb. She shakily stood up, groping forward to examine her envirronment.

Where am I?

She took several steps forward before being met by a metallic like wall. She could feel several bumps on it ; it took her a while to understand that these were intricate high-relief carvings of sorts. She certainly wasn't on the escape pod anymore but the unability to fathom what has happened frustrated her greatly. How long has she been out? She didn't know. She blindly traced the carvings on the wall, realising that they were humanoid figures. The facial structure was oddly similar to those representations of roman or greek gods though...

Engineers.

And everything downed upon her. Her struggling for her life, trying to kill the last engineer. Him catching her, but instead of killing her he caught interest in her. She, feeling despair, screaming and blacking out.

Elizabeth fell to the ground, curling up in a corner of the dark room. She was fully naked, and she was cold. She was reduced to an utterly miserable mess, sobs shaking through her body ; Everyone died, and she was left alone. In this unfamiliar, alien chamber ; a fitting punishment, she thought, for one who sent her friends to their own death. If it wasn't for her insisting, Charlie wouldn't have gone to this damned mission. Janek and the other's wouldn't have died uselessly if she'd let them go back home.

Home. Home that meant nothing to her anymore, that SHE meant nothing to. Deep down, she knew she would never see the blue planet again. But what's the use of wishing that? There isn't anything back home. Everyone she loved, cared for died. She wanted to join them, she wished the Engineer would've made her then.

"Perhaps it's for the best. None of them would want to be around me " She spoke aloud, in a bout of dark humour. Instinctively, she brought her hand to her neck. She missed the familiar weight of her cross terribly ; it's presence would've been the only thing that would've made her feel better. Because the only thing she knew was that her father loved her unconditionally, even if God abandonned her. Her father lived through that cross...and it was taken away from her.

She rocked herself back and forth, her eyes wide open as droplets trailed down her cheeks. She was at the border of insanity, there was no mistaking this. The unreal situation she found herself in, where all has been stripped away from her made her sink deeply in hysteria.

A demented laughter boomed from her, resonating throughout the room. She laughed and kept laughing through her tears ; there was nothing joyful in this hidden howl of pain. She laughed her throat raw, and did so even if the taste of blood coated her tongue.

It took a long while before her spine chilling cackle slowly died down. Tiredness finally took over her trembling form and she lulled herself into the arms of Morpheus.

But sleep wasn't kind to her ; As she left the dire realm of reality she joined the even more cruel world of nightmares.

Her father was craddling her in his arms ; she was still a baby. He smiled at her tenderly, as if she was the best thing that ever happened in her life. She could remember hearing his steady heartbeat and she felt safe. Safe from the world, safe from everything. She closed her eyes contentedly, before opening them once again to take a better look at her dad's face.

He wasn't there, and she was left alone in the dark. She stood, calling out feebly

"Daddy? Daddy where are you?"

There were no responses.

"Daddy?" She asked again. "Daddy why did you leave me? I am scared of the dark" Her voice started to shake. "Daddy, don't leave me! Daddy, please don't leave me!" She was now sobbing. She walked around, looking for her dad, when she stumbled upon something. The stench was unbearable, and she took a better glance at what she fell on.

It was Charlie's burned corpse.

She screamed herself awake, sitting up in a fetal position. Her body shook uncontrollably and she jumped back, making sure she made herself as small as possible in the corner of the room. She was wailing, and terrified. She kept seeing things, shadows moving around, trying to seize her. Burnt corpses, seeking revenge, crawling onto the floor. A little boy, accusing her of murdering him. Countless blank faces, staring at her.

And suddenly, a rift appeared on the wall. It seemed like that portion seemed to liquify and slowly retreat to opposed sides, letting in a blinding light. Elizabeth cried in relief as the luminosity chased the monsters away.

"God..." She whispered.

A tall being stood in the opening, it's skin scintillating. An angel of the Lord, she thought. She couldn't see it's features, she wasn't sure if she was dreaming. It gave her something, akin to a wristband made of obsidian pearls, or whatever it was. She was kneeling and accepted the gift gratefully, her tears drying away. The angel slid the beautiful jewel onto her hand before tenderly scooping her body and lifting it up.

It was the last thing she knew before falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 :**

Elizabeth blinked several times, sleepily. She woke up from the most peaceful slumber she had for a very long time. She always had trouble sleeping because of anxiety ; when she was younger, she was afraid to close her eyes because of the nightmares which plagued her unconscious world. Her mind was also being strangely clear - she could remember perfectly everything which occurred yesterday. Her feverish, demented state, and the angel - no, Engineer - coming and giving her this bracelet before carrying her away.

As if something clicked in her head she jolted up, finding out that she was no longer in the small dark room. She was in a large circular chamber, it's mural sculptures illuminated by holographic representations of different galaxies floating throughout the air. A very detailed planetarium, she realised, and it was breathtakingly her hovered the gigantic Andromeda constellation, with such amazing, inhumane details. She could even see strands of individual stars dusting the galactical branches.

As her stare dwelled from star to star, galaxy to galaxy, it fell on the large being sitting in the middle of the platform. He - It, Elizabeth corrected herself - was in what would be best described as a lotus position. It's back was straightened and it's legs were crossed ; it's facial expression was serene. The engineer seemed to be "holding" the hologram of the Ursa Major, which lit up his strong angular features with a blue-ish glow.

How was it able to remain so calm in a lifeless planet was beyond her. It's ship has crashed, it is alone and woke up alone after 2000 years and yet, is still there watching astronomic formations as if that was the most important and fascinating thing. It was probably more knowing and wise than her, a silly, meaningless human would be. Oddly enough, she realised, she also felt pastoral. Whatever troubled her mind simply disappeared after a good night of sleep. Or was it day? Time seems to stagnate in these ships. Her current state of mind was also due to the lack of abdominal pain - she refused to believe that her wound disappeared overnight and still it did. There were even no scars, which led her to think that the Engineer had a hand in it.

After contemplating for a short while, she got an inkling on what could've caused her to rest so well ; She examined the stone bracelet the Engineer gave her yesterday with misgiving. This is probably it - she thought - whatever technology they use to sedate or induce somnolence is far greater than ours. However she did not wish to take it off ; she felt so fine. Plus she feared to somehow insult the engineer. He already spared her from a certain death - which she thought it used to be preferrable, until she woke to see these beautiful holograms which cheered her up for no specific reasons - and she did not wish for him to regret his decision. Whatever caught his interest was worth knowing. Why didn't he kill her like the others? ..Wait, "He"?

She glanced back at the engineer. He, because it was hard to refer to him as otherwise, was in deep thought. It was something human...and yet she could feel the tangible, millenial old intelligence that emanated from him, making him so alien too. How could she bring herself to hate him? She did not know. What he did was undiscutably wrong, but perhaps it was for the best. How could she ever dare to understand their greater motives? They knew more. They were wiser. Their causes were certainly beyond her human mind. Maybe it was for the greater good.

And she couldn't blame him for Charlie's death either.

It sounded like the Prometheus's crew had done something, asked something unredemptedly wrong. Maybe asking for immortality was something wrong. It would confirm the metaphoric apple of Eden...She knew she was getting ahead of herself. She was also surprised that she let things go so easily, with the simple excuse that this being was in all ways superior to her. She felt a pang of guilt but did not have the capacity to muster any contempt...safe for herself.

A swift hand movement from the Engineer caught her attention and the constellation which lay among his palms enlarged, occupying the entire room. He obviously zoomed it, and moved it in all different angles until he could see a specific galaxy in closer detail.

Many sumer-like characters appeared in the air and they left him in deep thought. There was something...repetitive about those letters. Portions of words got deleted before being replaced with new ones ; it downed unto her that these were reflections of the alien's thoughts. He was writing something without the need to move any body parts and that was a small testament of their technology. Elizabeth pondered about a small detail that happened the day prior ; he litterally entered the room without a door. Or more like, an opening crafted itself onto the wall. A portion of it gained the consistency of liquids and - not unlike the way the sea was parted by Moses - rifted, revealing the "angel". What kind of technology would enable that? She did not know. The wall, she remembered, felt like it was made of a mixture of metal and something more stony. Yet, it became watery.

As if hearing her trail of thoughts, the engineer snapped his head towards her. His stare burnt deep into her - she couldn't see that, considering his lack of visible irises but she could feel it - and she froze, unblinking. Whatever she did, it captured his interest. Whatever she did, he decided to spare her. His gaze felt heavy ; it was more than merely disturbing. She was unable to withhold it for long and slightly bowed her head, escaping from the silent exchange. She could sense him move ; his footsteps were incredibly soft for a creature of his size and he gracefully sat on his knees facing her. His eyes kept boring holes into her cranium until she finally decided to meet them again. He was just there, his back straightened, his stare unwavering. There was something ultimately powerful in his steady posture ; she couldn't help but feel humbled in his close proximity.

She never thought these creatures to be gods, far from it. God is transcendant, transuniversal and not simply limited to a physical body. Yet, in moments like these it was made hard to believe ; the blue luminosity was reflected by his transluscent skin which gave him an ethereal glow. Dark violet veins formed intricate patterns under his skin, reminding her of white marble stones. Unlike what she initially observed, his eyes were not empty ; far from it. Deeply embedded, they were abysses of intelligence and contemplation - far beyond what she'd seen on humans.

He was beautiful, she finally admitted to herself. If she could, she would've asked all the whirlwind of questions within her. Surely he knows everything. He HAS to know everything, a small voice in her declared. Who could she place her childlike faith on, else than this divine being? When she was alone in this desolate world, having lost everything?

Where on earth was that horrid android when one needed him most? She tasked herself with the search for David. No matter how she disliked him - and she knew that this feeling was silly, because said bot was probably only obeying orders - hisnpresence will be necessary. How else would she be able to communicate with the engineer?

Elizabeth fell back to reality when her hand was caught in a much larger, warmer and smothless one. She gasped loudly, looking at him with as much surprise as she could muster ; his head was slightly cocked while he assessed her reaction. Tenderly, he pulled her up and she followed. He rose to his full height, his broad shoulders almost shadowing her and he turned around, looking intently at the sculpted wall.

It was the first time she truly noticed the artwork ; many different scenes were represented in lines - not unlike egyptian hyeroglyphs. The style reminded her of the Renaissance, rich in accurate details, mixing high and low relief. There were no words to describe the beauty of it all.

Suddenly, the depictions of mythic technological, interstellar battles gained life.


End file.
